[v_s_natarajan]

Ford Fusion –A 1400Km Drive Report. A lay Man’s View.
Why Did I buy it? : I needed a Vehicle which is a little high powered, Roomy and not a sedan.
Price: 7, 80,000 on Road.
Version: fully loaded with EBD and ABS and in dash CD player.
Exteriors: Well Built Frame and Doors which close with a re-assuring Clug Sound, Higher Ground Clearance, very acceptable head lamps, a cameo SUV Look, Fog Lamps, Intelligent Wiper Systems.
Interiors: A Panoramic Wind Shield with a High Seating Position which gives a very Good View of the Roads and the vehicles in front of you. There are no Blind Spots due to the Pillars, A well designed system of Rear and Side view Mirrors which literally eliminate all the Blind spots. The SV Mirrors are internally Adjustable and are large and properly placed. A Good pair of seats but not very Luxurious. Very Comfortable to drive and one experiences little back problems in Long Drives. The Plastics and the dash are short changed. Not Cheap looking though but definitely do not look Classy.
Internal Controls; The steering system is very Good and faithfully transmits your hand movements to the wheels. This means that you can shoot through the gaps as if you are playing video games. The gear shift sytem is classy and can stand on its own against any other. Short throws, the gears slotting as if they are sucked into are absolute Delight while driving. The brakes do exactly what they are supposed to. They stop the vehicle when and where exactly you want the vehicle into. Very Reassuring. A responsive gas pedal and a hard Clutch, Umm, Not Bad. The switches, A/C Controls and the knobs converse directly with my hands without bothering me. The AirCon is very good. Instantly cools the interiors and is a relief in the sweltering Chennai Weather
The Engine: The Duratec smiles knowingly when you start the vehicle and is very restrained in the first two gears and upto 1400 RPM’s. The gears, I guess are so teethed to make initial Torque band not very straining. Beyond 155 and from 2000RPM in the third gear, or in the Fourth gear, I tend to take my left feet off and relax, Knowing well that either I can Zip or Crawl and not bother the clutch. My long drives to the office are no more a pain. The vehicle has very smooth torque curves from 1400 to 3200 RPM during which one can tip 120KMPH effortlessly for Hours. I did not try any more speeds, what with my kid sleeping in the back on my way from Trichi on the national high Way. A classy engine. Wish Ford has put in a 2 litre Duratec though.
The Rides: With a 195 Tubeless, the low speed drives are okay but with the speeds on cruises, the ride smoothens out. The Drivability is bumpy, at low speeds and you feel the roads. The vehicle has a little Role at higher speeds but the confidence that you can do pin-point steering offsets it.

The End, My friend: Last Sunday, the arterials roads were empty at 9 PM and I was cruising back home with My Kid and this Innova was bent upon inducing me for a drag. Another fine vehicle from Toyota. The CD changed to” How many Roads must a man walk down before you call him A Man”. I got Nostalgic and drove on, ignoring the Innova.

[drifter]

Nice report there,

I didnt expect the brakes to be very good...maybe its the ikons memories - but apart from the brakes that car is fabulous to drive. But then are those 195s stock tyres on the fusion?

Drifter

[artofzen]

Lovely review.Keep it Up

[zulfikar]

after reading this i might have to go and test drive Ford Dusion.....
man it sounds tempting...ha ha ha

[islero]

I recently came across this Ford test driver caning the Fusion on the roads near the factory, he ripped down the highways, leaving my sedately-driven Corsa in his wake!!!

[Hatari]

i really liked the fusion when i test drove it..
how much mileage did it give ?
heard its not too hot

[Beemer]

Nice review . Fusion is a much better alternative to the sedans but according to me the market has yet to mature to accept this .

[v_s_natarajan]

Originally Posted by Hatari

i really liked the fusion when i test drove it..
how much mileage did it give ?
heard its not too hot

In the city, it gives about 10KMs with A/C on.
in the highways it gives about 15+.
I am yet to calculate the exact figures because i am driving both within the city and off the highways.

[v_s_natarajan]

Originally Posted by Beemer

Nice review . Fusion is a much better alternative to the sedans but according to me the market has yet to mature to accept this .

I guess you are right. I wanted little ruggedness, not a three box and a igher driving views. I have driven fiestas in Europe. when fusion came, i decided to go for it.

[v_s_natarajan]

Originally Posted by islero

I recently came across this Ford test driver caning the Fusion on the roads near the factory, he ripped down the highways, leaving my sedately-driven Corsa in his wake!!!

me too. i was driving past the ford factory on my way to Trichi and thre were two Fusions which were taunting me. Mine was driven by my Driver who is too good a driver himself and we had a whale of time for about 50KMs. we pulled over and these Ford guys were giving me tips. One of the guys have driven about 40000 Kms in the fusion in a period of 4 months and he said the engine was just too good. The duratec engines are a joy to ride on.

[ajmat]

Having pushed a Fiesta Zetec hard on a track - I was very impressed with the handling so were some of the others who had Jags and Evo's. The Fusion on which it is based, is worth a look but for the price.....

[v_s_natarajan]

Yes, the pricing.
probably a lakh more, i guess.
But ride quality and handling are classy.
Like it very much. Have driven some fiesta's in Europe. 101BHp was also okie. The NHC lacks that power.
let me see. It has come good for 5000Kms.

[deepakhon]

good review of the fusion. i liked the suv-like stance of the vehicle. i saw the pictures and was not very impressed until i saw one in flesh some time back. it looked pretty neat. if not for the pricing, it would have been a wonderful vehicle. ofcourse, with the present pricing, ford should provide a good diesel engine with a 4x4 option. it will be great then.

[Samurai]

I had seriously considered Fusion before the price was announced. I even had Fusion wallpaper on my PC, which was later replaced with Skoda Fabia wallpaper followed by Fiat Petra wallpaper and eventually with Baleno wallpaper .

I preferred the top model and it would have cost me nearly 9 lakhs with lifetime tax in Bangalore. over that, my wife hated the looks and the murmur on the bad low speed ride quality. She refused to even go for a test drive.

[v_s_natarajan]

Originally Posted by Samurai

I had seriously considered Fusion before the price was announced. I even had Fusion wallpaper on my PC, which was later replaced with Skoda Fabia wallpaper followed by Fiat Petra wallpaper and eventually with Baleno wallpaper .

I preferred the top model and it would have cost me nearly 9 lakhs with lifetime tax in Bangalore. over that, my wife hated the looks and the murmur on the bad low speed ride quality. She refused to even go for a test drive.

it cost about 780,000 for the top ended model.
when you can pay that for a 77BHP NHC, why not to this.
You may say Honda reputation. Naa.
not any more.